


The Right People

by meils121



Category: Leverage
Genre: Crimes & Criminals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:07:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25907065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meils121/pseuds/meils121
Summary: Parker may be the world’s best thief, and she can hold her own in a fight and plan a job with her eyes closed, but her attempts at grifting are worryingly bad.  Sophie-using-a-computer bad.  Hardison-cooking-anything-other-than-pizza-rolls bad.  Nate’s-hair-on-a-humid-day bad.  The last job, she was supposed to convince someone she was a college student from Sweden and instead ended up tasing a museum docent.  Not exactly what they needed.
Kudos: 22
Collections: The Leverage Exchange Master Collection





	The Right People

**Author's Note:**

  * For [VRRosen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VRRosen/gifts).



Sometimes - well, more often than any of them would really like to admit - jobs require each of them to go beyond their comfort level and embrace a role normally played by someone else on the team. Most of the time, it works. Hardison is getting better at keeping his grifts mostly normal, Eliot’s method of theft is inelegant but effective, and Nate has turned out to be a better hitter than expected.

Parker, though - Parker may be the world’s best thief, and she can hold her own in a fight and plan a job with her eyes closed, but her attempts at grifting are worryingly bad. Sophie-using-a-computer bad. Hardison-cooking-anything-other-than-pizza-rolls bad. Nate’s-hair-on-a-humid-day bad. The last job, she was supposed to convince someone she was a college student from Sweden and instead ended up tasing a museum docent. Not exactly what they needed.

It’s early days, though, and Sophie sees what Parker has: raw talent and untapped potential. Parker’s never had reason to lie and obscure the truth when she’s so good at simply slipping in unnoticed and taking what she wants. That, however, will not always work now that they are a team. 

It’s going to take some time and dedication to teach Parker how to grift, Sophie knows, not to mention a lot of patience. She still remembers the apple incident. So she enlists Eliot again - promising that she’ll at least tell Parker not to resort to threats - and sits down with Parker one rainy afternoon between jobs. 

“It’s about not just about making someone believe you.” Sophie says. “It’s about being exactly what that person wants to think you are in that moment.”  
Parker tilts her head, considering. “I don’t get it.”

Eliot interjects. “Think about it this way.” He says. “Say you’re a cop for a con, right? You can flash a badge and someone might believe that you are in fact a cop, but that doesn’t mean that they want to have anything to do with you.”

“You’ve got to convince them that you are the person they should trust.” Sophie adds. “That you’re who they think you are.”

Parker considers this for a moment, then shakes her head. “Still don’t get it.”

Maybe it’s time for a more practical lesson.

“Look at that woman.” Eliot says, nodding towards a woman sitting on a bench in the middle of the mall. “Now imagine she just realized her wallet was stolen.”

“I could actually steal it.” Parker offers, but Sophie quickly shakes her head, because they are already at risk of getting very off track.

“Pretend, Parker.” She says. “Now pretend that you’re a cop. You show the woman your badge and say you can help her.”

Parker frowns as she considers this. “That’s easy.” She declares. “What’s the big deal?”

“The woman will believe you that you are a cop.” Sophie says. “But if you aren’t the type of cop she’s looking for -”

Parker’s eyes light up. “She’s not gonna trust me?” 

“Exactly!” Sophie shares a grin with Eliot, excited that Parker has at least grasped this basic tenet of grifting. “That’s exactly it, Parker. She might be looking for a sympathetic person, or someone who says they will get right to work finding the wallet. As a grifter, it’s your job to figure out what that person wants from you in that moment.”

“I think I get it.” Parker says. “But how do I know what a person wants from me?”

“That, my dear, is the part that separates a con artist from a grifter.” Sophie says. “Practice, mostly. You have to learn to read people’s body language.”

It’s sad, really, how fast Parker deflates and closes in on herself. “Oh.” She says, staring at a crumb on the floor. “I think maybe you should just let me stay a thief.” 

Sophie looks over at Eliot, who looks just as worried as she feels. Sophie sets a hand on Parker’s shoulder. “Parker? What did I say?”

Parker shrugs. “I’m just not so good at reading people.” She says. “It’s not that easy for me, not like it is for you.”

It takes a moment for Sophie to decide how to respond. “Parker, that might have been true a year ago.” She says, remembering the strange thief she met all those months ago. “But it’s not true anymore. You know more than you give yourself credit for.”

Parker unfolds slightly, looking at Sophie with eyes that beg for what Sophie is saying to be true. “You think so?” She asks, soft and child-like. “Because everyone’s always said my whole life that I’m not good with people.”

Sophie offers a sad smile. “Maybe you just weren’t around the right people.” She says.  
Parker lifts her head up. “But you guys are the right people.” She says, finishing Sophie’s thought. “I like that.”

“Me too.” Sophie says. “Me too.”


End file.
